pwsh

Cross-platform PowerShell shell

TLDR

Start PowerShell

$ pwsh

Execute a command

$ pwsh -Command "[Get-Process]"

Run a script file

$ pwsh -File [script.ps1]

Run without loading the profile

$ pwsh -NoProfile -Command "[command]"

Run non-interactively for automation

$ pwsh -NonInteractive -Command "[command]"

Run a base64-encoded command

$ pwsh -EncodedCommand [base64_string]

Start in a specific working directory

$ pwsh -WorkingDirectory [/path/to/dir]

Show version

$ pwsh -Version

SYNOPSIS

pwsh [options] [-File file [args]] [-Command { - | script-block | string }]

pwsh is the executable for PowerShell, Microsoft's cross-platform shell and scripting language that runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It provides an object-oriented pipeline where commands output structured .NET objects rather than plain text, enabling rich data manipulation without parsing.PowerShell includes a comprehensive set of cmdlets for system administration, file management, and process control. Scripts use the .ps1 extension and support advanced features like modules, remoting, and error handling. The -Command flag executes inline commands while -File runs script files, and -NonInteractive mode is useful for automation and CI/CD pipelines.

PARAMETERS

-Command | -c CMD

Execute a command string or script block.

-File | -f FILE

Execute a script file. Must be the last parameter.

-NonInteractive | -noni

Disable interactive prompts; useful for automation.

-NoProfile | -nop

Don't load the PowerShell profile.

-NoLogo | -nol

Hide the banner at startup of interactive sessions.

-NoExit | -noe

Don't exit after running startup commands.

-Login | -l

Start as a login shell (Linux/macOS only). Must be first parameter.

-EncodedCommand | -e BASE64

Accept a base64-encoded UTF-16LE command string.

-ExecutionPolicy | -ep POLICY

Set the execution policy for the session (Windows only).

-WorkingDirectory | -wd DIR

Set the initial working directory.

-CommandWithArgs | -cwa CMD [args]

Execute a command with arguments populating $args.

-ConfigurationFile FILE

Specify a session configuration (.pssc) file path.

-OutputFormat | -o {Text | XML}

Format of output. Default is Text.

-InputFormat | -if {Text | XML}

Format of data sent to PowerShell.

-SettingsFile FILE

Override the system-wide powershell.config.json for the session.

-Interactive | -i

Present an interactive prompt. Inverse of -NonInteractive.

-Version | -v

Show version.

CONFIGURATION

~/.config/powershell/profile.ps1

User profile script executed on startup, used to define aliases, functions, and environment customizations.

~/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

Host-specific profile loaded only in the default PowerShell host.

$PROFILE

Built-in variable pointing to the current user's profile path for the active host.

CAVEATS

Requires separate installation on Linux/macOS. Different from Windows PowerShell 5.1 (powershell.exe). All parameters are case-insensitive.

HISTORY

PowerShell Core was released by Microsoft as cross-platform shell.